But to become an all-time box office great, one must possess
unrivaled levels of creativity, longevity, and enterprise - or
else, decide to make five "Transformers" movies.

To find out which directors have had the most fiscally
successful careers, we looked into
Box Office Mojo's data to compile this list of the helmers
whose movies have grossed the most money at the domestic box
office.

From Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan to Michael Bay, the
top-grossing directors in U.S. movie history all have compelling
and versatile filmographies.

Here are the 15 highest-earning movie directors of all time,
ranked by total box office gross: